Maximum Ride: Stray Cat
by FormerlyXrewed
Summary: Icy, a new experiment, manages to escape from the Institute of Higher Living. But the scientists aren't willing to give her up since she has certain powers that could be very valuable. And very dangerous.
1. Chapter 1: Escape

I can't remember. I can only remember that horrible place. I don't remember my parents, my friends, or my family. And I don't know if I want to. My name is Icy.

Ok, not really. It's actually Susanna, or so I've been told. You see, there's a big difference between you and me. I look different than you probably do. I was born an albino. That mean's I have white skin, silver hair, and red eyes. One more thing: I'm not human. Technically, I am. 98, that is. The other percent is **snow leopard. **No, I'm not lying. I have night vision, claws, and very acute hearing. And something else. When I was a kid, I was put through a bunch of sick, twisted experiments. And I survived.

Every morning, it was the same. I'd wake up to see some idiot with a twisted mind looking at me. _Very _carefully. He didn't want me to hurt him. Neither did I, because it hurt me too. I glared at him, flexing my claws. He shivered under my gaze, but continued slowly opening my cage door. Instantly, I was out! I unleashed my claws, letting my nails harden and grow about six inches long. I slashed at all the cages near me, breaking the locks open. I am proud to say it was mass chaos. All the 'test subjects' were running madly. I could see a few scientists heading towards me, reaching out. Alarmed, I fell backwards and my goggles broke off.

I looked into the leader's eyes. It was a blonde woman with an angry expression on her face. All the anger faded away as we made eye contact. It was horrible. I can still remember the scared expression on her face as I was sucked into her mind. I could see everything: a little girl on a playground, a young woman studying, fighting off gangsters…She was screaming, and I wanted to scream along with her.

When the poor girl finally fainted from shock and exhaustion, an Eraser lunged at me. You see, Erasers are these nasty werewolf things that like to chew up fresh meat and smell like old socks. Ick. I quickly scratched his face, tearing long red marks on his face. The wimp started screaming and crying, shrieking like a wet chicken. I grabbed onto another boy (this guy had _wings_)and nodded at the window. He understood. The guy quickly flew up and pushed me through. I landed to find myself in the sewers. Typical.

I got up and began running, the others on my heels. Somehow,we managed to find ourselves in New York. _So this is how normal people live._ No one seemed to notice a couple dozen grimy children climb out of the sewers and mingle into the crowd. Panting, I began to walk as casually as I could, trying not to look at anyone in the eye.

Back at the Lab, the scientists examined the rubble while a couple Erasers collected the unfortunates who hadn't escaped.

"Experiment 13 has escaped. Impressive," one of them commented. He snapped his fingers and a dozen Erasers appeared. "Bring her back. Alive. She could very well help us in our plan…"


	2. Chapter 2: Captured

I walked slowly, limping a bit. I froze as someone grabbed my shoulder. I turned angrily, hoping against hope it wasn't an Eraser. It was. I slashed at him and kicked him away, but more were coming at me. I jumped over someone's head and started to run. One of the Erasers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed my arm, and pulled hard, nearly pulling it out of its socket. I screamed loudly and he laughed at my pain.

"Aw, what's wrong kitty?" he jeered, pulling me backwards. "Does it hurt?" He was hurting me, laughing about it, and he was calling me a **kitty.** Big mistake. I turned around and made direct eye contact with him. He froze as I entered his mind. A flash of images appeared: a child running happily; a little boy crying; a loving parent being torn away from their child…I wrenched my arm away and ran, letting the tears flow freely. At least this kid had parents, even if only for a moment. I didn't have anyone.

Leaning against a brick wall isn't comfortable, but you get used to it. I looked around for pursuers, listening carefully. Nothing. The Erasers must've lost my trail. There was a sudden yell and laughing. Surprised by the sudden noise, Ilooked up to see a girl surrounded by a gang of guys. By the look of things, the lugs were attempting to do something rated NC-17. Groaning, I got up and walked over. The guys were big, but obviously brainless. They didn't even notice me walk behind them; they were too busy concentrating on the girl. Hoping to get their attention, I kicked one of them over and they fell on each other like a row of Dominoes. Priceless. They yelled and scrambled to get up, glowering at me. I lifted my arm and casually extended my claws. They stared at it in surprise. Before they could figure out if I was a mutant or an alien, I was busy beating the crap out of them. A few kicks, a couple punches, and an itsy bit of swearing got them running for their worthless lives. But before I could savor my victory, I was suddenly hit on the head. Everything faded into nothing…

I woke up with a horrible headache. I wouldn't open my eyes , but I knew someone was watching me. "Who are you?"

"A friend." The voice was soft, but it sounded strong. "Here." I felt someone's cold hands place something on my face. I felt at them anxiously. Glasses? I opened my eyes and half the world had a reddish tint to it. I sat up to see the girl and an older woman wearing glasses. I wanted to thank her, but I stopped. How'd she know about my condition? I sniffed suspiciously and got my answer. She smelled of chemicals.

"You…I won't let you take me!" I growled, starting to unsheathe my claws. The woman frowned and shot a look at the girl. She nodded and clapped her hands. Before I could blink, a couple Erasers appeared and pinned me down. I screamed and yelled every swear word I could think of, including a couple new ones I had picked up on the street. The woman picked up a walkie-talkie and began to yell into it above my screeching.

"We have Experiment 13!"


	3. Chapter 3: Friend or Foe?

"Get your filthy **a word you wouldn't say in front of your mother** hands off of me!" I screamed so loudly I was surprised they couldn't hear me in Afghanistan. The girl slapped her hand onto my mouth and quickly let go when I bit it hard.

"SHUT IT!" she roared, trying to bandage her bloody hand with her shirt. Everyone shut it and stared at her. She calmed down and stated, "The choppers will be here soon to it back to the lab." I spat at her, watching with satisfaction as she wiped her face off hurriedly.

"I'm not an 'it', you little bi-" the sound of air beating down stopped me and the girl grinned nastily. Something suddenly crashed through the ceiling, scattering broken bits of plaster and wood flying everywhere. Six winged kids were swooping down, throwing rocks at the Erasers. The Erasers yelled and screeched like sissies, ducking and wailing. One of them grabbed me by the waist and flew up shouting, "GO!"

The others followed her quickly and we flew far away. We finally landed and I scrambled away from them, hissing and spitting rather violently. Hey, it's instinct. "Relax, we won't hurt you." The leader was a tall girl with thick brown hair. "I'm Max. These guys are Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel." Angel smiled and hugged a little teddy bear tightly. I frowned.

"Right. I'm Icy. What's with the wings?" Fang frowned when I asked my question and Angel looked up at Max. Max sighed.

"Look, we know what you're going through. We escaped years ago, and they're still looking for us. We thought that maybe we could help you and…"

"And what?" I snapped. "Forget it! You guys have your issues, I have my own. Not to mention-" a rustling in the bushes interrupted my speech. A black dog came out, yapping its little head off.

"Total!" the little girl squealed, hugging it. Inside, I was _burning _with jealously. These guys could depend on each other when they had to. What did I have?

"You have your life!" Angel suggested. I stared at her in mild surprise. Max frowned and said, "Angel, it's rude to read people's minds when they don't know it." Oh. She was psychic.

"Look, this isn't really an option. You tell us what's going on in the lab, and we can help you get somewhere safe!" Fang insisted. I glowered at him for a moment, thinking. If I stayed, I could get information from them and leave. If I left, they might follow me or tell the Erasers where I went. Looked like there was only one choice.

"Fine. I'm staying. But if you try anything…" I flexed my fingers in warning. Max nodded, satisfied. Nudge burst out talking, yammering something about their recent fights with the scientists. I tuned her out, but was suddenly forced back in when I heard the name 'Ari'. I turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. Fang got up, looking alarmed at my sudden reaction.

"Ari…" I hissed the name venomously. Nudge looked scared. "What did you say about him?"

"He's dead!" Nudge squeaked. I felt like someone had suddenly hit me over the head.

"Dead." I repeated the word to myself.

"M-Max killed him."


	4. Chapter 4: Newsflash

"Ari…is dead." I let the words wash over me slowly. He was dead. _Dead_. I let go of Nudge and she fell back, looking a little scared. I suddenly lifted my head and began to laugh insanely. I couldn't help it, I felt so weird.

"So, Max killed him. Perfect!" I put a hand on my forehead. "You just went and _conveniently _killed the only one who ever gave me any info on my past. Brilliant." Max looked surprised, while Fang raised an eyebrow.

"Info?"

"Yep. Ari used to tell me things he read from his dad's research and give me his broccoli. Kid hated the stuff. And now he's **dead**." I grimaced at them and Gasman winced at the look on my face. "Great job."

"It's not Max's fault!" Angel protested. "Ari was trying to kill us! It was an accident!"

"Oh, really?" I glared at them. "There's only one way I'd believe you, and trust me, I'd rather not do that."

"Is that why you wear those glasses?" Angel piped up. I looked down at her, annoyed with her mind reading powers.

"Yes. At age ten, I developed an unnatural power that forced the scientists to never give me direct eye contact. If I look in someone's eyes…I can see everything. Their fears, their pains…_everything._ And the worst part is, I never forget anything. I still remember the first time," I ranted on bitterly. It felt good to tell someone how much life sucked. "It was this Eraser boy. It was so horrible…" I shivered despite the warm air. Iggy nodded sympathetically.

"I see. Look if you must. I'm willing to go through it!" Max insisted. I looked at her in shock.

"Are you _insane?_ You don't seem to understand-I could kill you!"

"Wait. Before we go through this stuff, tell us about the lab!" Gasman looked pretty determined.

"There ain't much to tell, except for one juicy bit I got out of a scientist. They're trying to mix animals that can camouflage with humans. They're hoping to create a new 'experiment' that can shape shift. It's a load of crap if you ask me!" A sudden rustling interrupted my thoughts. I instinctively released my claws. Angel, Iggy, Nudge, and Gasman lifted up into the air a couple feet, beating their wings powerfully. A large group of Erasers appeared, snarling and snapping. I was appalled to see the blond girl was here too.

"You take care of the birdies!" she ordered the Erasers. They transformed, howling as they leaped towards Max and Fang. She turned towards me with great hatred on her face. "Experiment 13…I thought it would be easier to track you, what with your _unusual _appearance." I glowered at her, all too aware that I did stick out a little more than most people. Curse whoever thought up albinos.

"Drop dead, Barbie."

"It's too bad…" she looked at me coldly. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this." She suddenly reared back and two gigantic bat wings sprouted out of her back. Her teeth grew long and sharp as her hair darkened and her eyes became red with bloodlust. With a loud war cry, the thing leaped at me, teeth bared.


	5. Chapter 5: Batty

"You have _got_ to be joking," I groaned. "Do you know how cliché that is? A batgirl? I mean-"

"SHUT UP!" the not-so-blonde thing roared angrily. I looked at her, eyebrows raised. What was she? Bat wings, fangs, claws, black hair, murder in her eyes…obviously another whacko Eraser-thing. She suddenly dove at me and delivered a punch to my side. I slammed into a tree and heard a crack. It felt like my arm had been broken at impact, and I was probably right. The tinted glasses fell off and there was a tinkling noise. I looked down blankly to see pieces of crushed wire, glass, and more glass. _Crap._

There was another lame war cry as the she-thing leapt at me, clearly ready to slice me like an onion. I closed my eyes and ducked to the side, falling on what felt like a bunch of rocks. Ouch. Sharp splinters flew into the right side of my face, making new scratches and cuts. There was a screeching wail, and I squinted to see that her hand was bleeding bad. The idiot had punched the tree and gotten splinters in her fist. It looked like she was attached to a demented hedgehog.

A rough hand pulled me up, forcibly turning me the other way. I could hear the ex-blonde cackling evilly and rasping, "Now that we've got Number 13, we can leave." She came closer, and I could actually feel her breath on my face as she hissed, "You're lucky they want you in one piece."

_Lucky? Yeah, right. More like **doomed**_, I thought to myself. Hey, I'm not exactly the most optimistic person ever. What's so great about being an albino werecat freak? I could hear yells, probably from the bird kids, and a scream. Rough Eraser hands pushed me into what felt like a helicopter, judging from the leathery seats and smooth metal floor. They didn't bother tying me up or anything, knowing I was helpless.

"Aren't you happy?" I heard one of the Erasers cackle. "We're going back home."


	6. Chapter 6: There's no Place Like Home

I woke up to find myself in a large white room. I tried to get up, but there was something weird. I felt at my neck and my fingers touched something metal. A collar. Surprisingly, I wasn't chained or anything. Nothing. My broken arm was even healed completely, like it'd never been messed with. _What's going on? _I thought. I wasn't even in a barred cage, just a small pit in the floor. I easily leapt out, sniffing around. There was nothing else, except for a long white hallway. I cautiously stepped forward into the hall, expecting to see a way out. Instead, I saw two more hallways spreading the opposite ways. _A maze! _

I turned to run out, but it was too late; a white wall had appeared, blocking the way. Only two choices: left, or right? I closed my eyes to concentrate, listening carefully. There was a humming noise coming from the right. _Machines? Bees? A chainsaw? _I opened my eyes and headed in that direction. There were more hallways, and on the floor was a bunch of wires. I unsheathed one of my claws and poked one.

Electricity jolted out, flying everywhere. One big blast hit the wall and incinerated it. I ran for it, hoping I wouldn't get fried. And then, guess what? Just my luck. A big puddle of oil awaited me, shiny black stuff all over the floor. I slipped and probably would have fallen and cracked my head open if I hadn't forced my claw into a wall and swung around. Nevertheless, I continued sliding and crashing into walls and finally fell at the exit. Brilliant. Two scientists pulled me up, careful to avoid any direct eye contact. I didn't bother fighting back. It was hopeless.

They dragged me over to a small room filled with machines and things. A metal table was smack in the middle, metal bindings hanging off of it. A scientist was muttering, "I think it's a record, but we might want to check again after the test." Another one was nodding and scribbling something onto a piece of paper. One scientist, clearly the leader, was standing by the table, his back to me. He turned and smiled knowingly. _Dear God, **no**. _

"Hello, Icy." Jeb smiled eerily. "Welcome back."


	7. Chapter 7: The Spy

I wanted to scream. I was at my least favorite place in the world with my least favorite person in the world. Actually, make that second least. Blondie is on top of my list.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Icy." Jeb spoke calmly and gently, but his eyes were glowing with excitement. "How are you?" I spat at him in response, watching in satisfaction as flecks of oil, blood, and saliva stained his white lab coat. He scowled and held up a small remote, pressing a button. Instantly, I couldn't move. He smiled at me, tapping the collar on my neck.

"Prototype. Complete control over the wearer, which would be you." _Crap. _I wanted to slice that sneer off his face with my claws. I looked him in the eyes; hoping I could knock out, maybe even kill the jerk. God knows he'd deserve it. I found myself staring into darkness. His eyes were cold and dead, as if all the life had been sucked out of him. Everything was fading, growing darker, _darker…_

I woke up, snapping to attention. I was tied to the table, metal straps holding me down. I glanced around, looking for any signs of life. In a large glass box with holes in it was a girl. Her skin was brown and looked rough. Leaves were sprouting out of her face and vines curled around her arms. There was a boy in a cage next to her. He had yellow eyes, white hair, and paw-like hands that included clawed fingers. They looked miserable and scared, and I couldn't blame them.

"Had a nice nap?" a scientist asked, looking frustrated. He was the only one there, and was considerably younger than the usual geeks. He had reddish brown hair and dark eyes that were staring at my face. I glared at him in response. He sighed and leaned closer.

"You look like you wouldn't tell on me, so I'll let you in on a little secret." He pulled one of his rubber gloves off and showed me his hands. I tried to say something, but it came out as a strangled gulp. At the very tips of his fingers were tiny black points that were curved and sharp.

"Scorpion," he explained as he pulled the glove back on. "I was one of the first experiments. I escaped a long time ago and came back as a spy."

"A spy? For who?"

"There's a bunch of us out there. Most of us are failures compared to what the freaks meant us to be, but I guess it's ok as long as we're alive." I blinked, trying to absorb this info. This guy was a good guy? Correction: this guy was a spy? _Right, and I'm Miss America._

There was a click and the bindings came off. I sat up, rubbing my arms.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I demanded, watching as he opened the glass box with the plant girl. He paused in opening the wolf kid's cage.

"You don't."


	8. Chapter 8: Ticket to Freedom

Top of Form

We were free! Not. The four of us were huddled together in a circle, whispering quickly. The wolf kid's name was Moony. He was a new breed of Eraser, just not violently insane. I guess the lab freaks didn't like that. The tree girl didn't speak, but the whitecoat said her name was Willow. Oh yeah, the whitecoat. He was Avery, and he was our ticket out. Just wait and watch.

"This way," Avery beckoned, walking into the hallway. The rest of us followed him carefully; ready to gut him like a fish if he was tricking us. Or, at least, I was. "In this room there's a tunnel that leads to Time Square. There are always a billion people there, so we won't be noticed." Moony quietly asked, "What about the others?"

Deadly silence. "There are no others," Avery finally answered, his dark eyes looked sad.

"Why?" I asked softly. He looked at me, blinking.

"They all died." The words hit me like a thunderbolt. _They all died. _Horrible. He suddenly handed me something, and I looked down. Sunglasses. I put them on, wishing this had never happened. Wishing none of this was real. Wishing all those dumb scientists had never been born.

There was a moment of silence as we walked on, inwardly mourning for the lost. Poor kids. Willow had prayer hands and her bark-ish face was in a solemn expression. Moony looked a little sick, gulping. His yellow eyes softened and he let out a howl, ignoring the fact that we were supposed to be quiet. I thought about before I had escaped. There had been so many. A little jellyfish boy, a lizard girl, a shark/tiger thing...all of them gone?

Moony suddenly yipped like a dog, and I looked at him. He barked, "I can smell it! People! And something else!" I sniffed too; a faint but delicious smell was somewhere out there.

"French fries," Avery grinned. He opened the door and walked in. we followed eagerly. _Freedom! Free-_A pause and a curse. In front of us stood Blondie and Jeb. Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"Avry, what in hell are you doing?" the blonde girl barked.

"B-Bella!" he stammered back. He had suddenly paled. "W-why…?"

"What are those freaks doing out of their 'rooms'?" _Freaks? Freaks! Oh, look who's talking, you wannabe Barbie doll! Why, I oughtta…_

Willow whimpered and scuttled behind me. Her eyes were huge and filled with tears. Jeb snapped his fingers and a dozen Erasers appeared. "Don't make me do this, Icy. The rest are disposable, but I don't want to kill you."

I looked around me. Willow, poor girl, was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Moony was growling, his eyes narrowed. Avery's hands were curled into fists as he stared into Jeb's eyes. "What're our options, sir?" I asked, claws out. Avery ripped his gloves off, his eyes dead serious.

"Sic 'em."

Top of Form


	9. Chapter 9: A Secret

Apart from the screaming, yelling, cursing, and, of course, killing each other, it wasn't too bad. I could distantly hear Moony howling as he bit into Eraser flesh. _Gross._ Willow was behind me, squashed against the wall as I tried to keep the _Harry Potter 3_ rejects away from her. One Eraser actually had a brain apparently, considering he grabbed me by the neck and lifted me up instead of trying to scratch my eyes out. Willow cringed, shrinking into a little ball while I dangled three feet above the floor.

I could feel his thick fingers tightening around my throat. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, I could only hear the fading yells. I closed my eyes and thought; _am I going to die? _Right on cue, the Eraser suddenly collapsed. I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the floor and Willow's face looking down at me. Avery pulled me up, his lip bleeding. There was a nasty cut running down his face and he had a black eye. His lab jacket had bloodstains everywhere.

"We need to leave. Now!" Willow nodded as Moony bounded over, spitting out blood. There was a gash in his side and blood was all over his face. Avery glared at Jeb and Blondie, who looked kind of bored.

Jeb smiled, looking at us like we were steak he was planning to chop up. Creepy. "I don't think so, kiddo." Avery snorted in disgust.

"You lost the right to call me that a long time ago." Wait. What?

"What?" I asked, repeating my thought. "What're you talking about?" Avery looked a little depressed as he muttered out of the corner of his mouth two little words.

"My _dad_." I think my heart nearly stopped. Moony's mouth dropped open and Willow stared. "He gave me up to them about fifteen years ago. I was four."

"I didn't have a choice," Jeb snapped. "They did it without my knowledge!"

"Liar," Avery breathed. _"Liar."_ Jeb's face darkened, and he started walking towards us. CRASH! Six winged forms swooped down and grabbed us, Avery included.

"Sorry we're late!" Max muttered. "Took a while to get rid of the doggies." I didn't answer, trying not to be sick. Moony howled as we lifted up and flew out the ceiling (which was now completely gone).

"So long, suckers!" Gasman yelled, laughing. Avery didn't say anything. I could have sworn I saw a tear drop off his face. Then it began to rain.


	10. Chapter 10: Everlasting Memories

It was pouring really, really hard. Max and the bird kids flew us to a huge cave in the side of the Grand Canyon. There were like, four tunnels that led to different rooms, so the birds got one room, Avery and Moony shared one, me and Willow shared one, and the other one was the living room. Since we were all sopping wet, Nudge wisely suggested we all dry off.

I was watching the little fire Willow and I had made when Angel came in. The little blonde girl was watching us carefully, her dog under one arm and the bear dangling from her opposite hand. "What's your name?" she asked Willow.

Willow blinked in response. "Willow? That's a pretty name." Angel was obviously using her mind reading powers. Willow shook her head. "You want to change it?" I looked up in surprise. Angel looked back and explained, "She thinks Willow is too soft. She says she wants a name that's strong and…" she frowned. "What does individual-is-tick mean?"

"It means different," I tried to explain; slightly adjusting my shades so I could look at her without her being three tones darker than normal. "Well…how about Weed?"

Angel nodded. "She says she likes that name. I like it too. And so does Total," she added. Total barked happily. "And Celeste too." I rolled my eyes. How old _was _this kid?

"I'm six. But I'll be seven soon!" Angel said proudly. Stupid mind powers…

At dinner (if you could call it a dinner) we all ate silently except for Angel, who was explaining about Weed's new name. Moony raised an eyebrow with his mouth stuffed with chicken, his yellow eyes darting towards Weed. "Weer nem choith," he commented before swallowing his mouthful.

"So, what's next?" Fang asked. "It looks like the School's forces are losing power."

Avery said nothing, his eyes dull and blank. He had a red cut on his face and his arms were covered with scratches. But it looked like emotions hurt more than any battle scar. Max seemed to notice this, because she said, "Well, let's just go to sleep. We can figure out what to do in the morning." Her suggestion was answered with yawns and mutters of "good night". Iggy put out the fire and the entire cave went dim.

I couldn't sleep. Weed was breathing peacefully, her chest rising and falling as she slept. The rain hadn't stopped yet, and I could hear thunder in the distance. _Perfect, _I thought. _Just perfect. _It was still dark, and I could hear snoring, so I headed outside to be by myself.

It was freezing, it was cold, it was pouring tub loads of water, but I stayed outside anyways. I was sitting on a little ledge sticking out under our cave, talking to a skinny little tree.

"You're lucky, you know," I told it. "I bet you're not some outcast to treemanity or stuck as a lab reject." The spiny mass of twigs nodded sympathetically. Okay, it was really swaying forward in the wind. But I pretended it was nodding sympathetically. I suddenly stiffened, alarm spreading through my body. Someone was nearby. I turned and relaxed. Just Avery.

"Hi!" I said, trying to talk over the wind. I'd abandoned my plant friend and went over to talk to Avery. Avery looked up and grinned weakly. His hair, originally reddish brown, was completely wet and plastered to his face. "You couldn't sleep either?"

"Yeah…" was the answer. I sat down next to him, trying to talk without getting a zillion raindrops in my mouth.

"Ok, what's wrong?" I demanded. He sighed in this weird way.

"It's just…. I thought I could escape it, you know? Escape _him._ But he's always there, haunting my life. I can't get it out of my head. This guy, he handed me over to them. I remember him playing with me, taking care of me. He's my _dad._" He shivered when he said the last word. But who could blame him? Not me. "The memories are just there like someone glued them into my brain, and I can't get them out."

"Well…" I started slowly, trying to figure it out. "That's all in the past. Sure, they're still there in your heart. But they can't do anything to your life. Memories have no power. They'll just fade away."

Avery nodded and turned his head as the sky slowly cleared and the glowing sun began creeping over the edge if the canyon.

"But…" he said quietly. "What if they don't?"


	11. Chapter 11: Hello, Garden State

We figured everyone would be up by now, so we headed back into the cave. Fang was handing out what looked like crushed sandwiches. Whatever it was, it smelled ok and tasted great. "So, what's our plan of action?" Moony asked. Max swallowed and wiped her mouth.

"We're going to New Jersey." There was total silence, which was broken by Nudge.

"Huuuuuuuuh?"

"I said, we're going to New Jersey. Think about it. It's close to DC and all the places we're from. It's got plenty of mountains and places where we can hide."

"And it's probably one of the last places they'd expect us to go," Avery added. "Not a bad idea. Of course, we might want to get some fresher clothes…" He had a point there. Moony, Weed, and me were dressed in dirty white t-shirts and shorts. The rest of us were better off, but just as shabby. Avery held up a thick wad of money. "I'll go get some clothes, shall I?"

An hour later, I was a totally new person. My hair had been dyed black, although they'd let me keep a streak of hair my real color. My clothes had been exchanged for a white tank top and black jeans. Amazingly, I looked almost normal. _Almost._

We were a bit worried about Weed, since most of her skin is covered in that hard stuff, but we finally decided to get her a hooded sweatshirt and just keep the hood up the whole time. Avery said he'd try to find something to get the stuff to go away.

We flew (ok, the birdies flew while we tried not to hurl) for a couple hours, trying to stay near the clouds. We landed on a beach that was pretty gravelly. There was a sign that said **Sandy Hooks**. Sandy Hooks sure needed a cleaning crew. No one was around, except the seagulls. I looked down to see some weird, clearish blobs on the sand. The freaky thing was, it was moving. I was about to poke it when someone yelled, "STOP!"

A girl was standing a little way from us, holding a blue bucket. Max edged towards Angel, while I slowly reached for Weed. The girl had glasses and black hair, and was moving closer to us. She stopped right in front of me, frowning. I was expecting her to kill me or something, but she bent down and picked the blob up, dropping it in her bucket. "They're jellyfish," she explained. "If they stay here they'll dry out." I noticed she had dumped seawater in her bucket and there were more blobs floating inside. She swung her arms in a graceful arch, and the jellyfish went flying into the ocean.

"My name's Mitchie," she said. "What are you guys doing here?" I glanced at Fang, who shrugged. Avery stepped forward.

"DO you have a place we can stay?" he asked. Mitchie raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but nodded.

She led us into a cliff with a cave. God, I'm getting sick of caves. "I live here," she announced. "I ran away when I was 12. I've been here for about a year."

"And no one's noticed?" Iggy asked incredulously. She shrugged.

"No one cares. I help them out, they give me food. Or I just fish for some. Now then…" she glared at us. "What about you guys?" Fang shrugged.

"We're from California. We ditched after an accident."

"I see. City kids," Mitchie narrowed her eyes. I guessed she didn't approve of cities. "Whatever."

Moony walked around a bit, sniffing. Weed tapped Angel on the shoulder, and Angel whispered into Nudge's ear. Nudge whispered to Avery, who shook his head and whispered something back.

"Feel free to help yourself," Mitchie called, pointing at a little rack made of branches hanging over a tiny fire. The smell of fish began to rise. "There's plenty of it." We helped ourselves to the fish and also discovered cooked potatoes. They looked burned, but if you carefully sliced it open, it was really good inside. I sliced mine with my claws when Mitchie wasn't looking.

"So, what's our plan?" Gasman piped up, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I think we should stay here for the night, then leave. We shouldn't stay in one place too long." Fang's statement was approved of. It was getting dark, and Mitchie'd disappeared. We weren't too worried since she seemed to know everything about the freakin' place.

I woke up around midnight to find that Angel and Nudge were both gone. I quietly tiptoed out to look for them. Lo and behold, they were just sitting on some rocks a few feet away. I jumped over, ready to yell at them. They both turned and put their finger to their lips, AKA the _shhhhhh! _sign. Nudge pointed at something way over by the horizon, so I squinted to see what it was. Oh, my god.


	12. Chapter 12: Swimming with the Fishes

Mitchie was swimming. Ok, not that unusual. (Besides the fact it was around 3:00 AM) The freaky thing was, she was flipping backwards, like a fish. I swear I saw something silver glinting on her neck. Oh, God, she was one of us. What did they _do _to her?

Nudge was whispering nonstop about how it was so cool, how it was so great, bla bla bla. I could care less. All I wanted to know how Mitchie had escaped. Or was she from somewhere else? She didn't seem super paranoid, like the rest of us. What had she said about running away?

I grabbed the two and dragged them behind some rocks when I realized Mitchie was coming back to land. We watched her between a crack between the rocks, my hands on both of their mouths. She looked pretty normal, although I could see a few glittering scales randomly on her skin. Her glasses were gone, and her hands were webbed. It looked like the extra skin flaps sort of disappeared when they dried, because she was rubbing at her hands.

"I know you're there," she suddenly said. "Come out." She apparently wasn't talking to us, because someone stepped out from behind some other rocks. More than one someone, actually. It was Max and all the others. "What do you want?"

"Who did that to you?" Fang asked quietly. "Was it them?" Mitchie scowled.

"I don't know who you mean by 'them', ok?"

"Was it the School? Was it Jeb?" Avery put in. Mitchie glared at him, her eyes filled with an emotion I knew very well: pure and righteous hatred. She pointed a menacing finger at him. I noticed her nails were pointed and slightly curved.

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Name. Again." She spit out the words like they were something slimy in her throat. Moony quickly yelped, "Then you know them?"

Mitchie frowned. "'Know them'?" Ha! They've been on my tail for so long, I can't even remember when I first met those creeps."

"Do you know Bella too?" Avery quietly asked. Mitchie nodded and replied, "Ohhhh, yeah. She's a bitch." _Yay! Someone agrees!_

"So, you can breathe underwater?" Gasman asked.

"Yup. Plus I can swim for much longer than the average human being. Of course, we're not anywhere _near_ your average human being. Hey, _you behind the rocks._ I'm referring to you too, you know." Again, she wasn't talking to us. I wish she were. A couple Erasers appeared, Bella leading them. Just our luck.

"Experiment 25. You're alive," Bella said. God knows how tempted I was to jump up and slice her to bits.

"Yeah, so are you, unfortunately. Did you hear my comment about you being a bitch?" Mitchie snarled. Bella's face hardened, her hands curled into a fist. She snapped her fingers and the Erasers leapt down to where the others were.

"You can take that as a yes."


	13. Chapter 13: Beauty is a Beast

A snarling Eraser face appeared right next to me. I flung Nudge and Angel as they started screaming. I saw them unfurling their wings and floating above us. That was the last I saw of them before the Eraserleapt at me, barely giving me time to unsheathe my claws. "Get off me!" I yelled, cursing him with everything I could think of. (I have a very extended vocabulary) A swift kick sent him flying into the ocean. I ran over to see everyone fighting like dogssquabbling over a bone. Bella was standing over Mitchie and Avery, both of them unconscious and bleeding badly.

The beast had taken over completely. No sneers, no nasty little remarks, nothing. Just a bloodcurdling shriek that made everyone freeze in their tracks. I swear I saw one of the Erasers hide behind a rock. Her eyes were a glowing red and her wings were fully spread out. She shrieked again, thendove at me and started tearing at my sides. Her claws stabbed at my face, cutting into the skin deeply. I won't get into details, but let's just say I discovered how much blood there is in half-humans. It was indescribable pain; no one could ever know how it felt. No one but me.

I could distantly see Max tackling the monster and punching as hard as she could. There were more screams and yells, but it all disappeared as I thankfully blacked out.

I woke up and the first thing I saw was blood. Blood. _Everywhere._ On the rocks, on the beach, the water was stained a deep red as it splashed against the rocks. I sat up to see Angel sitting across from me, waiting. "Are you ok?" she asked. No, my sides are killing me, I have a big cut in my head, I'm bleeding, I AM NOT OK!

"Yeah. I'm fine. Where's everyone else?" She pointed. Moony was lying against one of the boulders, a large gash stretching from his forehead and over his eye to his right cheek. He'd be blinded in that eye forever. The flaky bark on Weed's face had been completely torn off, revealing smooth brown skin that was hardening. Her clothes were stained with blood that wasn't hers. Mitchie was rubbing white stuff onto her numerous wounds, talking quietly to Iggy. I could see the rest of the Birds huddled together in a little group. But Avery wasn't there.

I decided to look for him myself. Hey, we wildcats are stalkers. (literally) It's natural. I found him on another part of the beach, looking kind of upset. By his feet lay Bella, her eyes open wide and her breathing harsh. Her golden hair was stained coppery, her skin pale. She looked like a redhead albino with the flu.

"What happened?" I asked. He didn't look up but said, "She was going to kill everyone. I had to do it." I sounded more like he was telling himself than me.

"Had to do what?" I asked. He didn't answer." Is she…?"

He nodded. "She's dying." _She's dying. _Oh, crap. I hated her like heck, I admit that I had wanted her to die but now that she was actually dying, it felt so…wrong. Why? I whipped my sunglasses off (they were completely useless-the lenses had broken) and kneeled down. I whispered, "Please show me everything" and looked into her fading eyes.

It felt so dark. And lonely. Just me and a half-dead girl. And her memories flashing by. They flew past like birds, disappearing one by one. I won't share because it's personal, but after a while I could see why she was so bitter towards us partial humans. It was horrible. But something did catch my eye, something important. Papers. White papers fluttering past me, right past me.

**Name: Susanna Silvers.**

_That's _my last name? Cool.

**Date of Birth: April 16, 1992 **

Ah, so I really am fourteen.

**Address: 162 Angel Park, PA**

Oh, my God. My address. The place I came from. My home. My address. I could feel the light shining on my face as I was pulled back into reality. Bella's eyes were glazed over and she was still. Avery was watching, a painful expression on his face. "Thank you," I whispered, closing her eyes.

We buried her later, near the woods. The others left and it was only Avery and I. Avery looked at me, his eyes peeking out from behind his reddish-brown bangs. "Why?" he murmured sadly. "Why do people have to die?"

"Well, why do people have to live?" I responded softly. He gave me a teeny smile.

"Well?" he asked. "What did you see, before?"

"I have a home. A real home. And it's in Pennsylvania."

"A real home?" He looked surprised. "Are you going to go there?" I shook my head.

"Why should I? My home is with you guys." I smiled at him. He smiled back. Then, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. Oh. My. GOD! He grinned and left me with my brain screaming.

**He kissed you. He KISSED you.**

_So he did, so he did. _

**But this is so sudden!**

Was it? Now that I thought about it, he'd always seemed to be willing to talk with me. I'd never really noticed those beautiful dark eyes, or the way his hair seemed to glow copper when the sun beamed down on him.

_Maybe it's not so sudden._

**Well? What're you going to do?**

Well, that's easy. _I'm going to teach myself to appreciate what I have. And_, I added, _I 'm going to stop those nuts from ruining other people's dreams._


End file.
